Panacea
by htffan951
Summary: There are many things that people would consider, wrong with the world. Spyro just happens to be one of those things. He has been beaten, he's been bruised, and he has been tormented by his own thoughts. The question is however, is he willing to face his demons as well as some new challenges, to save the one he loves the most? (Sequel to Mistreated)
1. Chapter 1

Birds were chirping as they flew across the sky, excited to start a new day, while a little breeze blew through the trees. The sun was only just beginning to rise above the mountains, giving the sky an orangey glow. Truly, anyone would find this morning to be magnificent.

That is except for one cheetah. Hunter was walking around the enchanted forest trying to catch him some dinner. He has been out there for nearly half a day and was have a lot of problems catching anything. He cursed the irony that was his name. While staking his next pray, he wondered, just for a second, what his friend was doing back home. This thought was broken however when a twig snapped near him. The elk he was hunting looked in the direction the sound came from before running off deeper into the forest. Hunter stood absolutely still as the tall grass in front of him began to shake as something was coming near him.

About a mile away, there was a cave system, tucked away in a corner between three mountains. While it was hard to notice the entice, once you knew where it was, it was impossible to miss. Inside the cave was a single dragon, a female none the less. She was nearly an adult but was only half the size she will be once her body fully grows. She had elegant curves and a long tail that was twice as long as her neck. A top of her head where five spikes that came out the back of her skull. Cynder had to admit, she had grown quite a lot the past six years. She was walking around the cave that Hunter had found for her and moved some supplies they had hidden from there last hide out into it. She didn't really enjoy all the running around she had to do, but in the end it was worth it as long as she was with her unofficial mate, Spyro. She wondered how their hunting trip was going.

They have been gone for quite a while, so she figured that Spyro was having problems hunting again. She didn't mind though, as she wasn't all that hungry. In fact, she noticed that she been feeling weird for a while now. She thought she was sick or something, but she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure how to describe it either, which was why she hasn't told Spyro about it. All that she knew was that she had this feeling in the pits of her chest that made her feel uneasy. It's been going on for a while now, nearly three months and it's put a toll on her.

She's been having problems sleeping, eating, or just moving around in general. She was glad that Spyro hasn't really noticed yet. Whenever she woke him up in the middle of the night she would tell him that it was just a bad dream. He'd comfort her for a bit before going back to bed. She didn't want to worry him by telling him what was actually going on. But she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep it a secret. It felt like it was getting worse.

Hunter looked unhappy as Spyro stepped out of the grass in front of the cheetah. Much like Cynder he too has grown. He wasn't nearly as tall as Cynder, but he had grown some muscles, though not much. One thing that did surprise him though was that he had grown a small, golden, horns that had a rocky like design to them on the bottom of his lower mouth, the back of his head, and on top of his head near his horns. Spyro wasn't sure if he liked them as it reminded of his father and his past. Cynder would always tell Spyro the he looked nice with them, and that it made him look more mature.

"Sorry Hunter." Spyro apologized, cursing himself for stepping on that stick and causing their food to run away. Hunter has been trying to teach Spyro how to hunt, but it turned out a lot harder than either of them would have thought.

"That's the third time this has happened Spyro." Hunter said, trying not to sound like he was scolding his friend. "I get the feeling that something is on your mind?" Hunter wasn't far from the truth.

"I just can't stop thinking about what's been going on. I mean it's been six years and yet there are still search parties looking for me. To be honest I've been thinking about turning myself in, save you and Cynder the trouble of having to move to a new home every few weeks." Hunter quickly noticed that this was a topic that his friend has been thinking a lot of, as he could see the sadness of the though in his eyes. This, didn't stop Hunter from smacking Spyro's head, much to Spyro's surprise.

"I get what you're thinking Spyro, but you really do need to be less selfish." Hunter knelt down and placed a paw on his friend's shoulder. "Both me and Cynder know the risks of being with you, yet we still choose to stay. If either me or Cynder had any thoughts of leaving we would have a long time ago. I agree with you, six years can be a long time, but we don't mind. I'm your friend Spyro, and Cynder loves you. Do you really want to just give all that up? And what do you think Cynder would do if you just gave up on her?"

Spyro admitted that Hunter had a fair point, but he still had doubt in his head. "yeah I guess your right… but I think I'm going to talk to Cynder about this as well."

Hunter patted Spyro's shoulder. "Well good luck with that. I warn you, she will give you a similar response. Now let's try this again, only this time, try to be a bit quieter alright?" Spyro obliged, and the two went back to hunt


	2. Chapter 2

About a few hours later both Hunter and Spyro returned to the cave with two elk on their backs. "how'd the hunting go?" Cynder asked, walking up to the two of them as they entered. She embraced Spyro before he answered her.

"Terrible." He groaned. "I just can't seem to learn."

"Really? I thought you were getting better last time you went out." Cynder looked over to Hunter for confirmation. He merely shrugged.

"I guess Spyro has just going through a bad streak. He'll get better."

"Well he better or else we will all starve." Cynder said with a cheeky grin. This irked Hunter as she had planned.

"What? Don't think I can't get the hunting done on my own?"

"Well I'm sure there is a reason you have Spyro join you." This did make Spyro laugh a little, and Cynder held her smile. Hunter knew that she was only messing around with him, but he couldn't help but have a sour look on his face.

"Alright, alright enough bothering the old man." Hunter waved his paw at Cynder, showing his disapproval.

"She's only kidding Hunter." Spyro jumped in. "In fact, I bet that Cynder here wouldn't mind keeping a look out for the search parties, while you go cook up a meal hunter."

Cynder grumbled childishly, knowing that Spyro was more telling her than asking her if she wanted to do this. "Oh fine." Cynder stood up and sat down next to the entrance of the cave. While Hunter went to prepare dinner. With that fight over Spyro walked over and sat down next to Cynder.

"So how did the hunting go?" Cynder asked again.

"It was fine, though I spent a lot of time screwing Hunter up. Really I am just holding him back." Spyro let his head sag as he felt responsible for keeping Cynder hungry. Or at least he figured she was hungry.

Cynder had to pick his head up. "What's wrong Spyro? And I mean, what is really wrong? You've been blaming yourself a lot more than usual." Spyro couldn't help but smile at her.

"I'm I really that easy to read?"

Cynder took a moment to think about it. "Yeah kind of."

Spyro let out a sigh. He still wanted to talk to Cynder about what he told Hunter, but he didn't want to do it yet. He still wasn't quite sure how to talk about it to begin with. He could always just say that he wanted to leave so that Hunter and her could live more comfortably, but he knew that wouldn't end well, nor would it solve his problem. He wanted to really think about why he felt that way first. He felt like there was more to this than he could think of at the moment. "Can we talk about this another time Cynder? I need more time to think."

He wasn't to surprise to see that Cynder wasn't happy with this answer. "Alright, but don't hide it from me for too long you hear?" She nudged his neck, silently telling him that she really was worried.

This made Spyro grow a smile as it was another time that showed him that Cynder really did care. He nudged her back. "Don't worry, I'll tell you when I'm ready." They fell into a silence for a while, neither one wanting to speak as they soaked in the view. "You found a pretty good spot." Spyro noted. Despite the fact that it was tucked away, it had a view of a small lake at the bottom of the mountain. It glowed from the morning sun, making it shine like liquid gold. It was one of the few good things that Spyro saw was left in his life. Besides Cynder and Hunter that is.

"Well you should thank Hunter first. Remember, it was his suggestion that we move to the mountains. I just so happened to find the cave while we were looking for one."

"That doesn't diminish what you have done though."

"Fair enough." Cynder and Spyro felt back to silence once more and began to think about what has been bothering the both of them. Cynder leaned her head against Spyro's shoulder, which Spyro instantly picked up on. He knew that she only did that when either trying to comfort him, or when something was bothering her.

"Are you alright Cynder?" he had to ask.

"Hmm?" his question caught her off guard.

"I asked if you're alright. You've been having a lot of nightmare recently. Is something bothering you?"

Cynder honestly didn't know how to talk about it. "Tell you what," she said after having to think about it for a minute. "I'll tell you what is wrong with me, once you tell me what's been bothering you. Ok?"

"I'm not sure I like that deal."

Cynder gave him the same smile she'd always give him when she was trying to make him feel better. "Well it will motivate you to think about whatever's been going on in that head of yours."

Spyro snorted. "Fine, it's a deal than." That was when Hunter called the two over for dinner. Much like every night, the three enjoyed their meals, and both boys didn't suspect anything as Cynder ate little again. Soon enough it was night again and the three where preparing to sleep. Hunter found had to make a bed out of large leafs they had gathered the day prior, while Spyro and Cynder where find with sleeping together on the hard ground.

"Good night Cynder." Spyro whispered, laying his head right beside hers. Cynder, with her eyes still closed, kissed the side of his snout before getting some sleep.

The following morning, Spyro was jolted awake as the ground started to shake. As he stood up, his eye widened as he realized that it was an earthquake. Waking up herself, Cynder was quick to her feet. Cynder felt some pebbles fall onto her muzzle which caused her to looking up at the ceiling, and saw several large cracks appear above them. Acting quickly, Cynder shoved Spyro away just before the ceiling collapse.

He stumbled forward as the ground slowly ceased to shake. When he turned around to face were he and Cynder once slept he saw a wall made up of debris and large rocks blocking him off from part of the cave. He started to worry about Hunter hoping that he didn't get hurt during the cave in.

"Cynder, can you help me remove these rocks?" He asked hoping that she be able to help him. There was, however, no reply from his love. Confused, Spyro began to look around him. "Cynder?"He couldn't find her. He shouted her name again, this time louder, and still Cynder did not reply.

"CYNDER!" worried that Cynder had been killed when the cave collapsed. His breath quickened as his heart began to beat faster and faster. Slowly, he realized that panicking wouldn't help him in this situation, so he pushed such thoughts aside. He quickly ran over to the wall of rocks and debris.

Hoping to get a reply this time he tried called her name again. "Cynder, can you hear me?" There was no reply from the female dragon. He then tried calling for Hunter. "Hunter! Can you hear me?"

It was faint, but Spyro heard Hunter speak from the other side of the cave in "Yes, I can hear you. I am alright." Spyro felt a little better when Hunter came into his line of sight. "Where's Cynder?" he asked, not seeing her around.

"She's not on your side?"

Spyro began to panic once more and started to dig.

"Hunter!" he shouted. "She's trapped under it!" Spyro began to dig faster, wanting to get her out as soon as possible. Hunter jumped in, and helped him from the other side. Very soon they uncovered her. Cynder looked bruised and beat up. Hunter noticed that her leg was bent in an awkward angle which most likely meant that it was broken. The minor wounds were enough to make Spyro panic. Hunter had to hold him back from picking her up.

"I know your worried for her Spyro, but she is breathing still. We just need to be careful alright? I know someone who can help, but I need you to stay here and make sure she doesn't move." Spyro didn't like this plan, but didn't argue against it.

"Fine, but please hurry Hunter." The cheetah placed a reinsuring paw on his friend's shoulder. "Don't you worry I'll be back in a flash." And like he promised he ran out of the cave shortly after.


	3. Chapter 3

After a very long walk, Hunter found himself back in a familiar location, just right out of his home village. It was just as he remembered it. Or at least from what he could see behind the tall wall, which wasn't much. This wall was nowhere near as the one in Warfang, in fact it paled in comparison, but where it lacked in size it made up in mobility. Hunter thought back to the times where they had to deconstruct the wall in order for his tribe to move to a new location. It kind of sucked the more he thought about it.

Focusing back to why he was there, Hunter looked for a way in without being noticed. While he would rather just use the front door, his tribe still doesn't really like him for his positive outlook on dragons. Lucky for him, however, he managed to find a tree near the village with a tree branch that extended over the wall. He waited for the guards to walk by before climbing up the tree and over the wall.

On the other side he started to sneak around the village as he searched for one particular hut. He was glad it was nearby, it was midday and it was hard enough to hid from people walking around. He quickly pushed aside the drapes that were used as doors. There was movement in the hut as he entered, and very soon a slim, silver furred, female cheetah with green eyes and a blue tunic came into his site. Hunter froze as did the female and in a flash they were embracing each other.

The two cheetahs stood still, hugging one another and both happy to see the other once more. Once they finished, they moved apart and began to stare into one another's eyes.

Hunter placed his paw on girl's cheek and said in a sweet voice, "You're still as beautiful as I remember you Galena."

Galena closed her eyes, enjoying his touch, but he felt pain erupted from his gut as Galena punched him. Hunter stumbled backwards gasping for air as the wind got knocked out of him. Galena opened her eyes again, only instead of the love he saw in them, it was replaced by pure rage.

"What the hell do you think you're doing back here?!" Galena demanded.

It took Hunter a moment to breathe properly once more, and when he did he said innocently "What? Can't a man visit his wife every once in a while?"

"I am no longer your wife, Hunter! I forfeited that up years ago," Galena turned her back from him, too disgusted to even look at him.

"Well, maybe if you and the rest of this forsaken village didn't believe in Prowless' idiotic beliefs, maybe I would have still been here!" Hunter responded with increasing anger.

"Oh, so now I'm an idiot for what I believe in, am I? If I remember correctly, wasn't it not you who told me to always follow my heart?" said Galena as she got up in his face.

"Yes, in fact I did. I remember saying that on our wedding day, as you started to have cold feet! However, I never imagined that your heart would lead you to stab me in the back like everyone else!" Hunter spat back at her.

"So what you're saying now is that it was a mistake in marrying me? And here I thought you loved me at one point in time," said Galena angrily but also slightly hurt. She turned around once more and walked away from Hunter a bit.

Hunter sighed; he never did enjoy arguing her. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, only for Galena to shove his arms off of her and say, "Don't touch me." Turning her body to face him, Galena raised her knife one more and she pointed it towards him. "Tell me, what the hell do you think you're doing here?" she said in spite.

Hunter sighed again. "I need your help,"

"Ha, and what makes you think I will ever help you again?"

Hunter then looked at her with determination in his eyes and said, "Galena please, a good friend of mine is out there dying, while her mate is off risking his life to save her. But I don't know if he'll make it in time. You're the only one I know who can help her."

Galena lowered the knife. She then looked away, not wanting to be entranced by his eyes before saying in a dark tone, "So what? There are plenty of people out there, who lost the ones that they love. What makes these two any different?"

"Because these two have endured more suffering than any decent person deserves. Because their love for each other is the only thing that keeps either one of them going. Because if one of them died, I can guarantee that the other would follow close behind without a moment's hesitation. And because these two people are my friends, and I'll be damned if I don't do what I can to help them."

"So, now it's my problem? All because, their lives have gone to shit, and just because they are your friends, it's now my problem?" stated Galena.

Hunter felt his heart sink, as the possibility of Galena's help was diminishing as well. "Please Galena, just help them," he said in a quiet voice. Growing desperate, Hunter grabbed her arm which held the knife, and brought the knife up to his throat. "Kill me if you have to but please, just help them!" said Hunter in a much louder voice.

Galena was shocked by this turn of events. She looked into his eyes, and she could see all the sadness, the grief, and the anger that was in them. She hated that look, so she looked away, but she could still feel his stare. "And what then?" asked Galena. "If I were to kill you right here and now, what then?"

"Please Galena, as just one final favor please do this, I beg of you. Don't do it for me, do it for them. You know what it is like to lose the one you love; do you really want someone else to go through the same thing?" said Hunter.

Galena clenched her fist when he said that. She then yanked her arm out of his grasp, and threw the knife aside. "Fine, I'll help you, but promise me this; once this is all over, I don't ever what to see your face here again," she said with anger in her voice, but Hunter could tell that there was some sympathy in there as well.

"Thank you," said Hunter softly.

"Save your gratitude for when I help your friends. Now, how did you get in?" asked Galena.

"I climbed up a tree, and jumped over the wall from a branch," said Hunter.

Galena sighed, knowing that it was going to be harder to get him out of the village. She then stepped away from Hunter, and started too walked towards the door. She then said "If we are going to leave here, you need to put your hood up and keep your head down. We don't want anyone knowing that you're here."

Hunter did as he was told, and put his hood up.

The two then left the hut and walked through the village. As they walked Hunter noticed that Galena would wave, or say hello to some of her neighbors or friends as they walked by. Hunter recognized several of them, and a few of them he was friends with, or, had been friends with. Soon the gates that separated the village from the outside world came into view. Before they even could reach the gate, however, Galena stopped as they heard a voice call out to her.

"Hey Galena, wait up!"

The two looked in the direction of where the voice came from and saw that an orange cheetah, wearing an orange and green tunic, approach them.

In a panic, Galena whispered to Hunter, "Follow my lead."

Once the other cheetah ran up to them he asked "Where are you off to, sweet heart?"

Sweet heart? thought Hunter.

Galena then wrapped her arms around the other cheetah's neck, and gave him a small kiss. Hunter felt his heart shatter when he saw this. She said, "Nice to see you to Meadow, I'm just helping this guy."

"What's wrong with him?" asked Meadow as Galena stepped away from him.

"He's sick, and I need to get more herbs from the forest to help him. He offered to help, so he is tagging along," said Galena.

With that said, Hunter let out some fake coughs, pretending to be sick.

"Well you're in good paws here my friend, Galena is one of the best doctors in all of the realms," said Meadow. Meadow began to stare at hooded cheetah. He wasn't sure why, but it felt like he has seen him before. "Say, do I know you? You seem familiar," said Meadow, as he rubbed his chin while he pondered.

"Oh, no, you must be thinking of someone else," said Galena, slightly panicking. However, Meadow didn't notice this. "Chief Prowless brought him to me. He said he is from another village."

"Oh? Which one are you from?" Meadow asked curiously.

"Actually, I think it's time we get going! Those herbs aren't going to find themselves!" said Galena worriedly. Hunter pretended to cough again.

"Well, I'm deeply sorry dear. I didn't mean to distract you," said Meadow, before kissing her forehead. "You take care now." With that said, Meadow walked away.

Hunter and Galena continued their way through the village uninterrupted. When they reached the gates, one of the guards halted her, asking her where she was going. In response, she told them that she was going to find more supplies for some medicine, and that the cheetah next to her was there to help. The guards then opened the gates, and let them pass.

The two then began to walk through the forest. Once they were far away from the cheetah village, Hunter asked Galena the question that he has been dying to ask. "So how long have you and Meadow been going out?" asked Hunter in a slightly depressed tone.

"A little over a year now, we are actually engaged now," said Galena.

"Oh," said Hunter even more depressed. Soon an awkward silence fell upon they as they walked several yards without uttering a single word. "I didn't see anything that belonged to someone else when I entered your home," said Hunter more as a question then a statement.

"He hasn't moved in yet. We wanted to wait until after the wedding before doing so," replied Galena. The two of them fell quiet once more.

The silence was then broken again when Galena said, "Look, Hunter, what we had was special, but after what happened… It was time that I moved on, and Meadow has been there for me for a long time now. I would suggest you should just move on yourself."

Hunter didn't respond to this for another few yards. "Does he make you happy?" said Hunter in a sad tone.

Galena was reluctant to respond to this but she said "Yeah, he does."

Hunter only nodded his head. The rest of their journey was silent.

Back at the Cheetah village, Meadow was still pondering over who the hooded cheetah was. As he wandered around the village, he came across Chief Prowless. Running up to him, Meadow said, "Good afternoon, Chief Prowless."

Turning around, Chief Prowless looked at Meadow. "Good afternoon to you, too, Meadow. How is everything going with Galena?" inquired Chief Prowless, joy evident in his voice.

"Things are spectacular! I could not ask for a more wonderful bride!" said Meadow, smiling widely

"That is good to hear! Now, is there anything I can help you with?" asked Chief Prowless.

"Actually, yes, there is. Galena said that you brought her a patient from another village. He seems very familiar, but I can't put my paw on it. Could you tell me who he is?"

Chief Prowless gave Meadow a confused look. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Meadow, but I didn't bring anyone to her. In fact, I haven't left the village all day."

Meadow's facial expression went from joyful to worried as he heard this. "But she was with the other male when she told me this… you don't think she's…" said Meadow in a panic before he was interrupted by Chief Prowless, who said,

"Of course I don't think that! Galena would never dream of doing such a thing. Something else must be going on," Chief Prowless said in a stern tone. "If it would help, I can send someone to track them down for you."

"No," said Meadow quickly. "She is my wife to be. I must take care of this myself."

Chief Prowless gave him a nod of approval before saying, "I wish you the best of luck."

Meadow then ran back to his home and grabbed his bow and quiver full of arrows just in case things turned for the worse. Slinging the quiver over his shoulder, he ran towards the gate. He told the guards there that he was in search of Galena. Thankfully for him, one of the guards pointed him in the direction they were going as he opened the gate.

He ran out a few yards, before looking for their tracks. Unfortunately for him, the ground was stiff, meaning there were no foot prints to be found. Still determined, Meadow walked in the general direction the guard gave him, keeping an eye out for any tracks, hoping that he would find her before something happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Spyro was pacing back and forth in the cave as he waited the return of Hunter. The wait was killing him! Wherever Hunter went he hoped he would get back quickly, he wasn't sure how much longer he could bare the sight of his near crippled love. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really have a way to cope with a thing like this till Cynder came along other than to just bottle it up. Now that she was gone…

"No! Don't think that! she's not gone, just… just"

"Rapidly dying?" a familiar voice rung in his head.

Spyro did his best to ignore his darker counterpart. It's been so long since he heard that voice that he nearly forgot that he even had a dark half. Spyro hoped that he would just stop talking to him.

"Hey Spyro, in case you forgot I'm still you. I can hear your thoughts you know. It's not very nice to ignore someone."

"Oh I'm sorry I must have forgotten that you're the kind of person I want to talk to." Spyro bitterly shot back.

"Ouch, you know that really hurt." Spyro could almost feel Dark Spyro's eyes roll when he said this. This irritated him and he was already growing tired of his counterpart's presence.

"What do you want?!"

"Just checking in on my favorite dragon in the world. Me" This time Spyro rolled his eyes, but Dark Spyro wasn't done there. "I see that Cynder has gone and broke your heart again."

"She did not get hurt on purpose! In case you weren't paying attention, she pushed us out of the way."

"And would she need to push you out of the way if you were still here? What about these thoughts in your head telling you to leave? You do want her to live a happy life right? How can she when people like us are around?"

Spyro could feel his blood boil. "You mean people like YOU! If YOU didn't even exist, I might have lived a happy life and Blast would-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard it before. Man it's like you're a broken record, you keep on repeating the same thing over and over again." Spyro let his shoulders sag.

"Why do I even bother trying to talk to you?"

"Like I said a long time ago. You called me here."

"And I still don't know what that mean! Why would I call on you? Your just my fears, there's no need for you to be around." There was a silence in his mind and for a moment he thought that Dark Spyro had finally left. Until the creeping sounds of his laughter began to echo in his head.

"Is that really all I am to you Spyro? Fear? Well I'll give you one point for getting that one right, but you still failed the test. I may be your fears Spyro but I'm much, much more. You know exactly what I am. But you refuse to admit to it."

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT!" Spyro shouted to the heavens, and his voice rattled the walls in the cave.

"Who are you talking to?" The Hermit asked as he approached Spyro. He didn't even notice that he entered and his voice spooked him causing him to jump back only to relax when he saw who it was. "I mean there's nothing wrong with talking to yourself, I do it all the time in fact."

"Oh hey Hermit. It was nothing," The Hermit stared at Spyro for a good long moment before resuming his original look. Spyro was just glad to be talking to someone else. However, when he looked back up, the Hermit was no longer in front of him. He jumped again when he heard the Hermit's voice from behind him.

"Oooh, Cynder looks a little worse for wear. Nothing she can't fight through though. Where's the other cheetah? What was his name again? Haunter?"

"It's Hunter." Spyro corrected. Despite the fact that he was glad to be talking to someone that wasn't his dark half, he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to someone who was almost equally as insane.

"Right, Hunter. Anyways I came by to give Cynder her medicine, but it would seem that I'm a bit late." The Hermit took out a vile from his front pocket, however if Spyro remember correctly, the liquid inside was meant to be blue.

"Why is it green Hermit?"

"Oh good, you noticed. Well you see it's quite simple. It expired." Spyro almost at a loss for words.

"Expired? How can it be expired?"

"Quite simple actually. A dragon's essence does not last long before it becomes rotten. Normally it depends on how corrupted they were while alive, I can't tell what exactly determines this."

"Well why are you still standing here? Go make a new one!" Spyro started to worry more. Can't Cynder just stay alive? Why does she have to have all of these problems?

"Spyro." The Hermit said bluntly. "I'm 67 years old. I'm not the energetic Cheetah I use to be."

"What does that have to do with this?"

The Hermit sighed before sitting down on a rock. "Spyro, I can't keep this up. I'm getting to old for this and soon enough I'm not going to be able to make the medicine for Cynder."

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Spyro began to worry. "if you can't make it who will?"

"Well you naturally." Spyro was taken back.

"What me? Why me?"

The Hermit stood back up and stared Spyro down. "Because Spyro, you need to start taking care of yourself. You've been held up by Hunter and Cynder for six years now and the moment both of them are gone, you can't do anything. So Spyro, I'm going to show you how to do it, whether you like it or not."

Spyro wasn't sure if he should appreciate The Hermits intentions or not. On one paw he was doing it so that he could actually handle things, but on the other paw he was being very forceful, almost as if the Hermit had other reason for Spyro to learn this. Now wasn't the time though to think about these things. Cynder's life was in danger and Spyro knew he had to do something to save her. "Fine, what do I have to do?"

"In case you don't remember, the main ingredient is Dragon essence, which you can only get from a living dragon. So I need you to go to the nearest dragon settlement and bring me back a dragon, preferably a child."

Spyro couldn't help but cringe at what he had to do. It was bad enough that it had to be a child, but he also knew what would happen to it. "Are you sure there isn't any other way to make the medicine?" Spyro said reluctantly.

"That depends, do you want to save Cynder or not?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then no, there is no other way." This wasn't what Spyro wanted to hear. He wanted no more killings in his life, no one suffering, and no one getting hurt. Sadly, he was in a corner and he had to face all three. But he knew deep down that he would do anything to save Cynder. After all she's done so much for him so far. He questioned, though, if Cynder would want him to do this. Yes, she would want to live, but if she knew that Spyro was the one killing an innocent dragon, would she still want him to? Now wasn't the time. Cynder was still out cold, and Spyro was running out of time to save her.

"Fine I'll do it. Where's the nearest dragon sentiment?"

The Hermit gave Spyro a wide grin, which disturbed him. "The closes one is Warfang."

Spyro took a step back. Of all places why did it have to be Warfang? "Are you sure that is the closest one?"

"I'm positive Spyro."

"How will I even get in there though? I'm still being hunted and I'm sure that someone there would turn me in the moment they see my scales." The Hermit sat back down on his rock. Spyro could tell that he was debating how to get him into the dragon city, but had difficulty coming up with an idea that would work. The moment the Hermit came up with one though, he sprang up and opened up his bag.

"Hold still now Spyro." The Hermit took out some sort of berries and a bowl. Adding water to the bowl followed by the berries, the Hermit began to crush them until they were a fine red paste. Taking a small tab, he applied it to a small area on Spyro's body making his scales look red instead of purple. "This is how we are going to get you in!" The Hermit said, clearly delighted with his plan.

"You're going to paint my scales?"

"If you can think up a better one then I'm all ears."

He couldn't.

"Good now I'll be right back I'm going to find a lot more. Just stay here." And before Spyro could say any more The Hermit left. After some time pasted he returned with a lot more berries. Doing the same thing as before, it wasn't long until Spyro was now a red dragon. Or at least looked like one. The Hermit made sure to only cover his purple scales with the red paint, leaving his golden ones the same.

Spyro looked down at his body and felt a little uncertain about this plan. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Of course it is, Spyro!" The Hermit boasted. "Just as long as you don't walk in the rain or get your scales wet in any sort of way, then the paint will stay on." Spyro still wasn't quite sure, but he didn't see much other choice.

"Alright then," Spyro grumbled. "I guess I should get going…" That was another thing, he really didn't want to go back to Warfang. Not after all that happened there.

"I wish the best of luck to you." The Hermit said before leaving the cave to do who knows what. Spyro felt a little bit more worried now. Normally Hunter would give him words of encouragement, or Cynder would make him feel better when he was about to do something he was nervous about. But now they were both gone and he was all alone.

"No, you're not ever alone." Dark Spyro's voice rang again. Spyro didn't like it, but after a bit of thought, it was better than nothing. Sort of. He didn't reply to his dark half and just left. Stopping at the mouth of the cave he turned back to look at Cynder's body.

"You stay safe Cynder. I promise I'll save you."


	5. Chapter 5

After spending most of the day running, Spyro made it to Warfang. He was rather amazed actually. All this running away really build up some muscles in his legs. Or at least a little. He definitely couldn't run for that long when he first left Warfang. Spyro realized that he had stopped completely when he was thinking that, the gates to Warfang only a couple yards away. To say that he wasn't worried would be a lie. Everything he had left behind six years ago were behind those walls and if it wasn't for Cynder, he would never have the courage to march up to the two moles guarding the front gate.

"What business do you have here?" asked one of the guards.

Spyro didn't respond, as his mind as racing around, looking for an answer. It didn't help him much as his eyes kept on drifting upwards to the spear that the guards held, which made him worry that his disguise would fail.

Noticing Spyro's panic state as well as his glances to their weapons the other guard said "Listen kid, we aren't going to hurt you. We just want to know why you want inside." This helped him, but he still had troubles thinking of an excuse. Then it hit him. Still not certain if it would work, Spyro said in a nervous voice;

"I'm here in place of my father. He is sick and couldn't make it here today. He said that he was meeting with someone and asked me to take his place."

The guards looked at Spyro for a second, not saying a word. Spyro felt his heart beat faster and faster, until it felt like it was going to burst. Then one of the guards shrugged and shouted "open the gates."

Spyro mentally sighed with relief. Before he could walk through, however, one of the guards asked, "Hey, kid, what happened to your wing?"

Spyro froze once more, not sure what to say. "The... um... purple dragon cut it off," Spyro wasn't really thinking of what he was saying. He just had to blurt something out and this was the first thing that came to his mind.

"Oh," said one of the guards sympathetically. "I'm terribly sorry to hear about that. I'll send word up to King Flame about that. It might help the investigation if they knew about where the last whereabouts of that freak were." At the mention of freak Spyro flinched.

"Oh well thank you." He tried to move on but the guard stopped him again.

"Where was he when this happened to you?"

Spyro actually found that one rather easy to answer. "Up in the valley to the east of here. My family and I moved after the incident."

The guard that stopped him gave him a reassuring smile. "Thanks kid, and don't you worry we are going to get him. He won't hurt anyone else."

Spyro nodded in response and walked through the gate, rather hoping that what he said was true. He didn't want to hurt anymore people. If he had the choose that is.

He began to wander around Warfang, looking for some sort of Dragon that would suit the ritual. From what he remembered, he needed someone young. He didn't like the idea but he figured the best place to look would be the orphanage. It pained him to think that he was about to kill a kid who never got a chance at life… That single thought nearly made him turn around and head back home.

"No!" he screamed at himself mentally. "I need to do this for Cynder… Just… try to make it quick."

He wasn't paying attention to where he was walking while in his thoughts. He didn't even notice that he was wandering around. Suddenly he heard a crash inside one of the building he was near and a large green dragon was thrown out. The dragon landed near Spyro with a thud. He thought about what the Hermit had told him. To stay away from people just in case they might recognize him. But he couldn't help himself, the large dragon just looked so pitiful as he laid on the ground and he sympathize with him. Spyro ran over and helped the dragon up.

Offering a paw to the older dragon, he helped him up, but upon closer examination of the green dragon, Spyro began to panic as he found he recognized him.

"Thank you," said Terrador. Spyro froze as years of torment and slavery came rushing back to him. He didn't even notice the odd look that Terrador was giving him. "Are you blind or something?" Terrador's voice sound slurred and his stance was shaky, but Spyro didn't notice. He was looking away fearing for his life that Terrador would notice. It was to his surprise that Terrador just pasted him and collapsing a few feet behind him.

Spyro's fear was leaving him, being replaced with confusing. This wasn't the same Terrador he knew while growing up. The Terrador he knew was strong, confident, and showed no signs of weakness ever. Than it hit him.

"Are you drunk Da- Terrador?" he quickly caught himself. He wondered if he even called him dad, if he would figure out who he was. He didn't want to test this out.

"YOUR DRUNK!" Terrador shouted back, picking himself up off the ground, only to fall back down.

Spyro was baffled by how pitiful his father had become. He was at an impasse internally. On one paw he wanted to just leave Terrador in the dirt. It is what he gets for all the shit he put him through. But… just looking at Terrador struggle to stand… it was hard to watch. He hated himself for wanting to help him.

'What happened to you, dad… What happened these past six years… NO! No, I shouldn't care about HIM!' Spyro began to scowl at the older dragon as he tried getting up once more. But it turned into a frown as Terrador fell onto a wall and needed to us it to stand. 'Damn it.'

Spyro knew the moment he saw Terrador fall over that he felt sorry for him. Be it that he felt like he still needed to work for him, or if he just wanted to figure out what was going on. Spyro knew that he wanted to help. He hated it but he couldn't stop his body as he walked up to Terrador and offered him another paw. Words started to come out of his mouth without his control.

"Need any help getting back home?" On the outside Spyro gave his father a small smile trying to be helpful. On the inside he was screaming at himself. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING! LEAVE HIM!'

"Oh…" Terrador seemed surprised by Spyro's act of kindness. "Thank you." Terrador took his paw and let him help him up. "My home is that way." He pointed to the west of Warfang. "I think."

Despite his desperate ravings to leave, Spyro did find it funny to see what Terrador has become. He figured he should at least figure out what has happened while he was gone, but then return to his mission.

"Alright Terrador, let's go then." Spyro walked slowly, making sure that Terrador could keep up with him. He didn't head in the direction that Terrador gave him, instead taking him back to the place Spyro used to call home. Back to his birth place. Terrador didn't seem to notice that they were walking in a different direction. If anything Spyro noticed that Terrador had a gloomy look on his face. Taking a closer look Spyro noticed other things.

Terrador looked just about the same on the outside, other than the larger stone fins that he always had. It was on the look in Terrador's eyes that was different. He looked… broken.

Spyro had to look away before he felt any more sympathy for him. The rest of their walk was in silence, much to Spyro's own delight. The less he talked, the less likely Terrador would recognize him. Though even then Spyro wasn't sure. His voice has grown a bit deeper since he left.

Reaching his old home, Spyro saw that looked different as well. The place he always thought was horrifying when he was younger due to how his parents treated him, now looked no one had taken care of it in years, making it look almost as pitiful at Terrador. Spyro had to make sure, thought, if this is where he still lived.

"This is your home right?" To his surprise again, Terrador didn't speak, only nodding. Terrador even got off of Spyro before he could bring him to the front porch and he stumbled in on his own. Spyro watched his dad walk up to the door and walk through it. Feeling more satisfied with this, Spyro began to leave. Only to stop as he could hear the soft sound of his father crying, through the shattered window leading to the living room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright guys, welcome to the second new chapter in this story. And I do mean second, as I've been updating this whole story the past week. I not only encourage, but I think you should read the past chapters. I've changed a couple of things and it would cause less confusion if you read up to this point. With that said, enjoy!**

Hunter and Galena where jogging back towards the mountains in silence. At least on the outside. On the inside, Hunter was trying franticly to come up with something to talk about. But there was just this awkward wall between the two. Hunter thought that seeing his wife again would make him happy. And it did, but he just never expected that she would remarry.

He knew from the beginning, from the moment she started shouting at him, that he could never win her back. And though a part of him tried to dismiss this, he still felt a little heartbroken over the matter. He wondered if Galena felt the same way. Hunter hoped at least.

It would explain the silence between them at the very least. Either she felt the same way, or she just didn't wish to talk to him. 'Great' he grumbled in his mind. 'The last thing I need right now is to think about this sort of thing. Just get Galena to Cynder, get Cynder the help she needs, and talk to her later'

He wondered what Galena would do once she found out she was helping a dragon. He only now realized that he didn't mention that Cynder and Spyro were the exact species she hates. Oh well too late now. He figured he would just have to try his hardest to convince her to do it.

"So what's the problem?" Galena's voice broke the silence, much to Hunters shock and delight.

"From what I could tell there is some internal bleeding, along with fractured or broken bones. A cave in fell on top of her. She's rather lucky to have survived." Hunter watched as the gears turned in his ex's head as she thought of the best way to treat Cynder.

She began to check her bag that she had brought with her. "I think I have everything that I will need, but once we get there I might need you to grab some more supplies for me. Is there anything else I need to know?"

Hunter felt like he should bring up Cynder's race, but he feared that she would leave as soon as he mentioned that. "None that I can think of."

Galena nodded. "Good. Makes my job easier then."

Eventually they made it back to the cave, and in better time that Hunter originally thought. "So where are they?" Galena asked, finding it strange why a couple of cheetahs where hiding in a cave. Or at least she assumed she was attending to a cheetah. Which would explain her drastic change in mood when she found out that Cynder was a dragon. "HUNTER!" she shouted.

"Now Galena, I know what this looks like, but I really need your help. Please!" Hunter sounded desperate, and he was.

"You never told me that I'm supposed to be working on a filthy dragon!"

"Could you please put down your petty racism for just a little while and help her? Please Galena, this lady has done nothing in life other than suffer social biases and similar hatred that you currently have for her. It's only been the recent few years that she has finally found peace in herself." Hunter fell onto his knees. "Please Galena, don't take this away from her!"

Galena balled her paws into fists. "Hunter… You promised me you will never speak to me again right?"

"Y-yeah." He had a feeling that she would bring this up.

"Fine." She said after a long silence. "I'll help her. But I don't want to ever see you again, I don't want to hear your voice, I don't even want you thinking about me! Now move out of the way I've got work to do." Shoving Hunter aside, Galena began to do a check up on Cynder, just to see what else might be wrong. Luckily what Hunter described earlier were all the problems.

"Is there anything I could do to help?" Hunter's timid voice asked.

She stopped what she was doing to look at him through the corner of her eyes. "You can help by getting out, and not bothering me." He could clearly tell she was mad. Seeing no reason to make her even more angry, Hunter did as he was told and left.

After what felt like hours of waiting, Galena finally came out of the cave and before he could ask how it went, she answered him. "It went fine; she should fully recover." Hunter noticed that she hated saying that.

"Thank y- "

"Hey, what did we agree upon?!" Her eyes where like daggers as she stared him down. "You are not to speak to me ever again!" With that said, she began to walk away. Much to Hunters own dismay. He was really hoping to at least try and patch things up with her… but it would seem that she didn't want anything to do with him. He felt lost, finally, after all of these years, he fully came to terms with losing his wife. He's been pushing the thought aside, secretly hoping that she would come back to him when he returned. But Galena shattered these hopes of his.

'It's probably for the best.' Hunter thought again. He tried his best to hide his tears as he walked back inside.

Galena was still ripe with angry in her body as she stormed off back to her home village.

"How dare he trick me!" she snapped at no one. In her mind she was with Hunter yelling his ears off. "FUCK HIM!"

"Fuck who now?" Meadow's voice came as he scrambled out of the brush.

"Meadow!" Galena was frightened all of a sudden from his appearance. "What are you doing out here?"

Meadow gave her a gentle smile. He wanted to get to the bottom of things, and making her panic wasn't going to help. "Something didn't seem right when you were wit that other guy. I thought you might have been kidnapped or maybe you were just going with a better man."

Galena felt sympathy for him. "Meadow… it's not like that… it's not like that at all." To prove it to him she kissed him. "That man I was with was just Hu-Hu… he was just an old friend of mine. There's nothing in between us." Galena gave him a straight face, and despite the look he was giving her, he didn't push any further.

"Alright that Galena, just as long as you still love me as much as I love you, I think I'll live."

Galena did smile at this. "I take it you've been stacking us for a while now?" she figured that was the only way to know where she went.

"Yeah. I'm sorry. I just was worried that something was going on."

Galena looked back a where she uses to be. "No there was nothing going on. I was just healing a friend." She didn't say a word as she left back to her village. She was once again deep in thought. 'What they hell am I doing? Why was I having problems with just saying Hunter's name? I should have just told the truth and have Prowless murder the dragons near our territory.' For some reason, that thought troubled her.

**Alright there you all go. Like I said before this is the second brand new chapter for this story. Sorry if this one seemed a little rushed, I literally only thought about it today. I've been busy working on the other chapters and I just really wanted to post this one today. However, now I'm going to take my time with this story, but I'm going to be sticking to a schedule. I'm going to post a new chapter every other Sunday. I'm making the promise now. I'll see you all in two weeks!**


	7. Chapter 7

Flame was pacing back and forth in his throne room. Anyone watching him could tell by the mere atmosphere around him that he was not happy. Granted this anger was due to stress, which was mostly fueled by all the work he had to do as king. He had to listen to speeches from countrymen trying to increase the amount of land they owned outside the boarders of Warfang, rich folk who feel like there is too many thieves and muggers running around the streets and threatening their livelihood, and worst of all were the complaints from the poor.

Despite the rantings from all other social groups, they at the very least didn't pester him, and remind him of his past failings. He was actually listen to a male dragon, who is down on his luck, preach about the same thing every other poor man spoke about.

"- And I've heard even more rumors that the purple dragon was coming back to Warfang this upcoming month."

Flame stopped his pacing and groaned. He pondered why, oh why, this simpleton couldn't see that he didn't wish to listen to this. He almost wishes that this dragon would talk to him about the increase in the number of homeless and needy residences in Warfang in the past six years. But no, this dragon chose to annoy Flame by reminding him of his mistake six years ago. Letting Spyro free.

"Thank you for your worries, I'll have some guards look into it." The dragon wanted to say more, but Flame shooed him away before he could. Walking back to his throne, Flame collapsed down onto it and stared blankly into the doorway that lead into the large room. A lot has changed the past six years though not in the way he had hoped. He hoped that by building the large wall around Warfang, people would feel safe from outside threats, yet they all talk about is the rumored purple dragon threat. He had hoped that when the wall was finished he could lower the taxes he had set upon his people, but all he has done as increase them. Not that he had any chose in the matter. People all over Warfang have been rioting and causing havoc, all fearing the purple dragon and accusing him for not putting enough efforts into protecting the people. This meant he had to spend a lot of money on search parties, on guardsmen to keep the peace, and the training it needed to make more guardsmen and search parties. Above all else, he had hoped that by letting Spyro go free, that things would settle down in Warfang. Clearly this was not the case. Flame sunk further into his throne.

The guard the Spyro ran into at the front gate walked into the throne room. With a tired groan Flame said "How may I help you?" The guard could tell right away that Flame wasn't in the mood to meet with anyone.

"Um, well my lord- "he quickly bowed, forgetting his manners. "I've heard word from a traveler who just entered Warfang not to long ago, that the purple dragon has been sighted to the east, near the valley. He was also injured by the purple dragon sir." He sounded sorrowful when he mentioned that last part.

Flame wasn't to surprise to hear about Spyro hurting someone. This wasn't the first time he's heard something like this. He was rather glad that his new adviser has been keeping him up to date regarding what has been happening outside of Warfang. "Thank you. I'll send some men to check out the area." Flame waved him off. The guard bowed again and left.

This was another thing that was bothering Flame. He's been hearing about the damage Spyro has been doing all over Avalar. His terror has stretched miles and miles and people all over the place are getting more and more paranoid. He's been forced to send his men out all over the place in order to keep the peace, which isn't an easy task. Nor was it a cheap one either. In fact, it was the sole reason he had to increase the taxes. And despite all of this, no one has even seen Spyro. Only the carnage and corpse he's left behind. Flame didn't like it, but he had to do something about Spyro.

A slightly old cheetah wearing a green tunic walked up beside Flame. "My liege." The cheetah bowed. Flame straightened himself in his throne. He was hoping for some good news for once.

"Ah Timreh, my trusty adviser." Flame said, delighted to see his new adviser. "Please, oh please tell me you have some good news."

Timreh frowned causing Flame to frown with him. "I'm afraid to inform you that Spyro has struck again. A tiny camp off to the south has been ripped apart. No one survived."

Flame slumped again. He blamed himself for each lost soul. It was his fault after all for letting Spyro get away. And to believe he had sympathy for the young drake after the story he had told him.

Flame sighed in defeat. "Just send more men to the location." Timreh felt rather sorry for Flame. The look in his eyes where tired ones. Things haven't been easy for the king.

"Flame if I may." Timreh walked up to Flame and placed a paw on his shoulder. "If I might give a suggestion, maybe some time off would do you some good." Flame looked up at his friend. He smiled at first, rather happy that he was concerned for him, but his smile turned into a scowl.

"I'm fine. I'll rest once Spyro has been captured and taken to the gallows." Flame stood up and walked away from his throne. "Don't let anyone else in, I'm done talking with everyone today." Timreh watched Flame turn to leave the throne room, and grinned as Flame left his site.

Spyro never thought finding someone to kidnap would be easy, but as a wave of people walked by he realized that this is going to be near impossible in the large city. Not to mention hard on him. Spyro didn't like doing mean things to others and doing this was killing him inside. If it wasn't for the fact that Cynder needed this, he wouldn't be here right now.

At least no one seemed to recognize him. As another large group walked past Spyro, he heard something rather peculiar.

"Is it true?" asked one dragon from the group. Most of them where kids. Spyro presumed they were roughly 15 years old.

The dragon the first one was talking to nodded his head. "Yeah, I heard my dad talk about it last night. The purple dragon has been attacking villages all over the place." This seemed to scare his friends.

"That's kind of scary" came the only female in their group. Another dragon stepped closer and puffed his chest out.

"He doesn't scare me! I'll take him one blindfolded." This did make his friends laugh, and Spyro couldn't help but admire the bravery on the kid. The younglings walked past and out of sight, but what they said worried him. Who was spreading rumors about him, and why do they think he is hurting people?

"Yeah, I heard he's killed hundreds. People are saying that he's going to be like Malefor." Spyro caught wind of another conversation as he walked down the street. Being compared to Malefor didn't sit well in his stomach. Spyro quickly walked past, blotting out the rest of what they were saying.

Sadly, he couldn't seem to avoid the topic. Everyone seemed to be talking about it.

"You think he's going to invade Warfang?"

"Do you really think that's true?"

"No way is he getting over that wall!"

"Were all doomed!"

Spyro couldn't take it anymore and his brisk walk turned into a sprint. People gave him looks as he sped past them, pushing some of them aside, but he paid them no mind. He just needed to get out of there.

He slowed himself when the crowed had thinned. He kept on walking until he found himself in an area that didn't seem to have anyone around, much to his delight. However, the more he looked he realized that the place almost looked deserted. Building where crumbling, there was a massive overgrowth of plants, mostly weeds, and there was a mess everywhere of dirt and other debris. He quickly glanced into one of the homes, and didn't see anyone inside. He tried another, and another. No one in any of the homes. Looking a bit more closely, all these houses reminded Spyro of the conditions of his old home he'd left Terrador in. "What happened here?"

"King Flame happened." Someone said behind him. Spyro jump in fright by the sudden voice. Spyro turned around to see and old dragon laughing at him. "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

Spyro laughed with him nervously and waited for him to stop laughing before speaking. "I-it's alright, but what did you mean about King Flame?"

The old dragon sighed. "About six years ago" the elder dragon started "King Flame promised us that once these walls were finished he'd lower the taxes he put on us to build said wall. But something happened. After the walls was finished he didn't drop the high taxes. Instead he raised them. People would be outraged by this, if it wasn't for the fact that everyone was terrified by the thought of the purple dragon invading. It was rumored that the purple dragon had killed a young boy before he left Warfang. That is where it started. The city guards tried to find him but they never did. Now he is out there causing all sorts of trouble and-" The old dragon stopped when he noticed Spyro's sorrowful look, unaware that Spyro was reminded of his cruel actions towards Blast. "Now what's wrong?"

Spyro snapped back to reality. "Hmm? Oh, nothing, just reminded of some events is all."

The old dragon glanced behind Spyro. "It's the wing isn't it? That purple monster took it from you didn't he?" Spyro said nothing. The old dragon patted Spyro's shoulder. "Don't you worry kiddo; they'll get that bastard."

Spyro gave a weak smile. "Yeah, I hope so…" The elderly dragon didn't seem to noticed the change in Spyro's voice.

"Anyways, back to my story. Since King Flame raised the taxes higher a lot of people have lost their homes, while others don't have the money to take care of their homes and let them waste away. Hence the reason things look the way they are." Spyro looked around the decaying block.

"So it's my fault." Spyro mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Spyro said quickly. He began to walk away. "Thank you for your help kind sir." The old dragon smiled and waved Spyro goodbye.

"No problem."

Spyro walked off down the street trying to get what the old dragon had told him. 'It's all a lie, who is doing this?' He was trying to piece together why someone would be spreading rumors. 'To what gain is there for framing me for things I have no part in?' The more he pondered over it, the sadder he grew. It was bad enough that he was still being hunted, but now people are thinking that he is some sort of monster. While he didn't like this one bit, he was more worried about the others. What would happen to Hunter if he was caught helping Spyro.

What would happen to Cynder?

'Cynder…' he let her name echo in his head. So many things were going on at this moment. People searching for him, lies being spread about him, Cynder dying, him trying to find someone to sacrifice in order to save her, actually kidnapping someone.

He wanted to break down, to lie down and weep. He wished Cynder was here, to help him, to support him and tell him that he can do this, and he wished that Cynder could just get rid of all of his problems.

She did once before.

"Maybe you should just leave her…" It was his dark half, only his voice sounded solemn. It didn't contain the bitter rage that he'd grown used to. And then there was this pause between them. Spyro was also accustom to his dark half ranting about why what he was doing was wrong and what he should do.

Be he didn't speak. While this did trouble Spyro, something about what he said sounded like it might be a good idea.

"Cynder wouldn't get caught with me if I leave." He began, mumbling his words soft enough for only him to hear.

"She would miss you." Was his dark half talking sense?

Spyro smiled. "She'd come after me." But his smile left shortly after. "Meaning I'd only put her into more danger."

"Don't tell her then. Don't tell anyone." Spyro didn't want to, but something about what his dark half was saying just sounded like a good idea. His dark half spoke more. "Save her Spyro. It will hurt less if you leave he alive then dead." Spyro's heart sunk.

"Yeah I guess your- "

"Hey mister!"

The new voice broke Spyro's train of thought. He looked around for the source of said voice but he couldn't find it. He did however notice that he had only moved a few feet ahead since he talked to the old dragon. When did he stop walking, and how long was he just standing there?

"Mister!" came the voice again. This time Spyro could tell where the voice was coming from. He looked down and saw a small child, probably only seven years old by what he could guess. She looked small, and frail. Her blue scales were dirty and it almost looked like she hadn't eaten in quite a while.

She reminded Spyro of himself when he was younger.

The girl gave him a warm smile. "What were you thinking about? You were standing here for quite a while."

Spyro returned the smile. "I'm fine, I was just thinking about someone."

"Who?" the little girl tilted her head. He wasn't going to answer and was going to just leave so he could complete his mission, but he was amused by the curious look in her eyes.

He knew he should just leave, but the look this girl was giving him made him stay. "My mate."

"You miss her a lot don't you?" Spyro just nodded. He was just about to leave when the girl said, "Are you my dad?"

Naturally this question baffled him. "No, I'm sorry but me and my mate never had children." The girl looked sad from his answer.

"Oh ok…" her head dropped and her tail dragged along the ground as she began to walk away. Spyro's heart went out to the girl and it nearly broke to see her like this.

"Um maybe I could help find your parents."

Spyro quickly looked around hoping that they might be looking for her. But the girl shook her head.

"My parent's abandoned me as a child. The other homeless people try their best to help me, give me food, and teach me. All that stuff. They are the only family I really have."

Spyro was at a loss. He wanted to help this girl, he wanted her to be happy. She was too much like him to leave behind. To even think about anyone who had a similar life like him was too much for him to bear. He had to do something. Was he doing something irrationally? Yes, he knew he was, but he didn't care. Then an idea hit him.

He smiled down at the girl and nudged her to try and cheer her up. "Say, my mate would love to see another face around our cave. Would you like to come home with me?" He saw a change in her eyes. It was almost as if something lit up inside of her.

"YES! Oh yes, yes, yes, yes YES!" she started jumping around and around. Spyro laughed at the girl's excitement. He picked her up and placed the girl on his back. "Alright then let's head home."

In Spyro's mind the plan was simple. He'd take the girl home, find the Hermit and ask him about another way of helping Cynder. He'd didn't say that she needed the medicine right now. Maybe he could come back here and find someone if he had enough time. Then when Cynder would wake up she would see the homeless, parentless, little girl he found. He wasn't sure how Cynder would react, but he wanted to worry about that another time. He just couldn't let someone like himself suffer any longer.

He could feel the little girl dancing around on his back as he carried her through the streets.

"Say what is your name? Spyro asked.

The girl stopped what she was doing and answered "People call me Kass. What is yours?" Spyro looked back and gave her a big smile.

"My name is Spyro."

**Another chapter down. What do you all think so far? I'm really interested to hear what you guys have to say about Kass so far or even how the additions to this story have been so far. I'll see you all in two weeks.**


	8. Chapter 8

Spyro smiled happily as Kass walked beside him. Looking down at her, he saw that she had just as big of a smile as he did. He figured that he was rather happy to live in a place that wasn't in a hell hole.

"You do realize that your just making things worse for her." Came dark Spyro's voice. Spyro rolled his eyes.

'What do you want now?' He wasn't in any mood for his counterpart. This was the first positive thing that's happened to him in the past week and he wasn't going to let his other half ruin it.

His dark half sounded worried. "What I want is for you to realize that you're making a terrace, and irrational mistake." Spyro ignored him.

"So Kass I hope you don't mind the long walk back home. I don't live here in Warfang." Kass shook her head.

"Of course not Mr. Spyro. I'm really excited to leave this place for a bit."

Spyro was glad to hear that. After what she's been through he would be happy to give her the time of her life. 'Hmm I wonder if I'll get her to understand who I really am.'

"Kass have you heard any stories about the purple dragon?" As Kass pondered this question, his dark half took the moment to speak again.

"For once in your life will you just listen to me!"

'I've tried listening to you before, and you nearly ruined my life. Now I live happily with Cynder and Hunter. It may not be a perfect life, but I'm happy none the less. Now I'm going to take Kass home with me and we are going to have a good time. I'm going to make sure that this girl does not go through the shit that you and my parents put me through.'

"You idiot!" Dark Spyro screamed in Spyro's head. "Don't you realize that-"

"I guess I don't like him too much." Kass finally answered.

"Hm?" Spyro had forgot his previous question. "Oh right. How come?"

Kass shrugged. "Well I just hear a lot of really bad stories about him. Like how he's killed so many people or that he is going to attack us." Despite what she said she didn't look to scared. Something Spyro had noticed as he walked around the city. A lot of people where paranoid. He figured it was because she was still just a kid and didn't quite understand somethings.

"You don't seem to scared by this fact." Spyro pointed out.

She shrugged again. "I doubt he's as tough as people say he is. I've been here for a long time and I've seen a lot of really strong dragons. Like once I've seen this one guy, I don't remember his name, but he toppled over part of his wall to his home once. I don't remember why, but he moved it without a sweat. Now way is this purple dragon stronger than that guy."

Spyro had to give her some credit, she was right in what she said. He began to laugh at her little story. So innocent and care free of the real world. "No I don't think he can. Your rather brave aren't you?"

"She's going to rather dead if you don't stop this." Said Dark Spyro, to which Spyro promptly ignored again.

"I don't know about that. I don't think I could take him on myself, but I know that there's a lot of people out there who could defeat him. Say how strong are you?"

"Is that really much of a question?" Spyro looked down at his body. It was still rather scrawny for a dragon his age, but he had gotten a little strong since he was last in Warfang. "I'm totally able to kick his butt." A little white lie never hurt anyone right?

Kass didn't seem to believe him though, or at least Spyro didn't think so as she was laughing at what he said. He asked her what she was laughing at. "Oh nothing. You're just a silly person."

"Yeah I try."

"Spyro… please… I like this girl as much as you, but I insist that you listen to me this one time. I'm begging you Spyro."

Spyro came to an abrupt halt. Looking back at him, Kass noticed that Spyro stopped walking and that he looked rather angry. "Is something wrong Spyro?"

Looking back at her, his mood softed and he gave her a warm smile. "Why don't you play around a bit; I need to go find something. I just remembered that my mate wanted me to pick some stuff up at the market before I returned home." Kass gave him a look, one that told him that she didn't believe him.

"Um…ok… I guess I'll just meet you in the market then… Did I say something wrong Mr. Spyro?" He was surprised that she asked this.

"of course not Kass, you did nothing wrong. I really just need to take care of something really quick, that is all." She seemed to believe him this time as she ran off. He presumed to say hi to some of her friends around Warfang.

"What do you want?" Spyro's voice sounded bitter when he talked to his counterpart.

"Spyro I know you only have pure intentions with bringing Kass with you, but you're not thinking straight. In the end if you bring her home, the Hermit is going to sacrifice her so that Cynder can be healthy again."

"Or" Spyro put a lot of emphases in this word. "I can talk to the Hermit and he is going to tell me a different way of healing Cynder, and Kass is going to have a fun time with me and Cynder. I'll get her like me more and when I do show her that I'm the purple dragon she will understand and spread word around Warfang that I'm not a bad guy."

His dark half was silent for a while. Not that Spyro complained about it. He actually rather liked the silence, but naturally it wasn't going to last.

"That is the dumbest idea I've heard you'd you come up with Spyro." Spyro knew that if he was talking face to face with his dark half, that his dark half would look disappointed. He could tell by the sound of his voice. "First off, The Hermit told you that there was no other way. Secondly if by some miracle the Hermit doesn't end up killing her, then when you do send her back to Warfang she is just going to tell everyone where you live and then you will be caught. Spyro you can't let your feelings for this girl get in your way. You came her to kill a dragon so that Cynder can live. You came here so that your love of your life can still return that love, not to bring some child back home because you feel sorry for her. Trust me Spyro, you're only putting an end to her suffering by doing this. And not in the good way."

Spyro sighed. "Your wrong. I'm going to make sure that she lives through this and then I'm going to make sure that Cynder makes it through this." This time his dark half sighed.

"Spyro… If your truly bind by your own compaction by her sob story… than I wish you the best of luck."

"Now what is that supposed to mean?" Spyro questioned, but he never got an answer. His dark half faded back into whatever corner of his mind that it came from. Spyro was left to himself, something that he realized hasn't happened in a long time. There was a dull roar from a crowd of people that could be heard from the street over, but only muffled noises could be heard. Other than that, everything was quiet.

Spyro rather enjoyed this. It gave him time to himself, time to enjoy things like he uses to once before. Not that he hated the way things become, but he'd grown used to being around people, be it in his small group that he is in currently, or back when he lived with his parents, or worrying what is going to happen to him that day. He nearly forgot what it felt like to just sit down and relax.

He thought about what his dark half said. Spyro didn't want to listen to what he had to say. It just didn't seem right to think about. But then again, was he bringing Kass back with him just to have her killed? Maybe this was just his way of coping with the idea. Forcing himself the idiotic belief that he would be able to save this soul, when instead he was just going to harvest it. It made him uneasy the way he phrased harvest.

"Hey Mr. Spyro" it was Kass again back from where ever she went off to.

Spyro looked down at her. "Hey sorry about that. I hope I wasn't keeping you waiting." She shook her head.

"Do you do that a lot? Space off." She tilted her head again, giving Spyro a look that made him forget about what he was currently thinking about.

"No, not really, but recently I've found myself doing it more and more… Maybe it's a bad sign."

"A bad sign of what?"

Spyro just shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'm just going delusional." He considered that fact that he had a dark half living in his mind, his torturous past, and the fact that he lives in a constant state of fear that he is going to be caught by one of the search parties looking for him, and it didn't come to much of a surprise to him to say that he was a little crazy.

"I don't think your delusional. Maybe you have a lot on your mind." Kass walked up to his side and patted his paw to which Spyro smiled back at her.

"Yeah maybe…. Anyways, let's get going." She returned his smile and they both went back on walking down the street.

Back in the cave, Cynder finally began to stir from her slumber. "Mmmm" she groaned as her eyes fluttered open only to close them as the bright light shined brightly through the mouth of the cave. She laid her head back down and closed her eyes, feeling rather tired. "Good morning Spyro." She said having no recollection of the cave in.

"He's not here, and its nearly noon." Came Hunters voice. Cynder noted that he sounded worried for some reason. Opening her eyes, she looked over to where she heard the cheetah's voice come from.

"Where did Spyro go?" Hunter shrugged.

"No clue, he left before I could return." He reminded her of the cave in and what happened to her.

"Well that would explain this head ache." She chimed in, interrupting Hunter's story.

"And you're lucky that is the only thing that came out of this. You're lucky I know someone."

"Well thank you Hunter for your help. Now then." She tried her best to stand up. Her legs where shaky and it was a struggle to stand. Hunter told her to take it easy.

"You might still be weak. Let your body recover." He further suggested.

But Cynder just shook her head. "I need to go find Spyro. There has to be a good reason for him to leave like that without giving anyone a clue where he was going." Cydner began to shamble out of the cave, or at least tried her best to. Hunter walked beside her.

"Than if you're going then I'm going with you. No sense in leaving you alone out there when you can barely stand." Cynder had to scoff at this, but in a playful manner.

"Thank you Hunter, how noble of you." Hunter didn't need to look at her to know that she was rolling her eyes.

"Save your sarcasm for later." Hunter said scanning the horizon for any sign of his purple friend. "Let's go find Spyro."

**I do hope you guys are enjoying this story so far; I know I am. But I'm really more interested to hear your guy's thoughts on it. Is it not what you were expecting it to turn out like, or do you think that this story is being predictable? I would love to know so that I can better this story. **

**On a second note, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to post the next chapter in two weeks. School has been a real pain recently and I would like to try to focus more on that if at all possible. Now I'll still try to post the next chapter in the time frame I've given myself, but I make no promises. Thank you, and take care each and every one of you.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for not posting an update on this story from last week, but school was keeping me way to busy. Now I got some good news for you all.**

**I'm scrapping this story.**

**But don't you worry I'm not giving up on this story just yet. Originally I decided to start working on this story again because I felt like I've needed to, since I've kept on giving up on stories. But recently I've been thinking. One of the biggest reasons I've given up on a story is because of two things, the first being that I didn't think out the story all the way, but the second, and the most important one, is because I was trying to please you guys.**

**Now I don't mean to paint any of you in the wrong light, and if anything most of you have been a lot of help to me. But it was one reviewer that really got me thinking with his review. "I'm really hoping to find out what happen to spyro's parents" is what he/she put. **

**Now I want to make this very clear, I am not mad at this person, nor do I think ill of him in any sort of way. If anything I'm glad for his review as I realized that I stopped writing this story for myself and started writing for you guys. The past week I keep on thinking how to finally show what happened to Spyro's parents, when I should have been thinking about how to develop the story. And that is where I am screwing up, that is where I'm making most of my mistakes. **

**I've always had fun writing, but when I'm trying to write for you guys, it feels more like a job than just fun. And a big part of this is my fault, as I've been treating this like a job. I need to start writing for fun again, something that I feel like I've totally lost…**

**But I'm going to get it back, I promise you all that I will. And to start I'm going to scrap this story and start all over. No more of this idea of Spyro taking home this stranger, no more of this mysterious group that is pretending to be the purple dragon, and no more of anything else that I don't really like about this story.**

**So I'm sorry to tell you all that you're going to have to wait a little longer for the next chapter, as I have to spend some time thinking up the story line for this book. I'll jump back in this site when I've figured out what I'm doing. I'm terribly sorry to you all if this comes to a disappointment to any of you. But if I want to begin pleasing you, I have to first please myself and actually write a good story. **


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